Chapter 2: Disgrace in Old Age

Chapter 2: Disgraceful in Old Age

In just a single day, the news of the patriarch of Azure Cloud Sect taking concubines spread like wildfire throughout all of Northern Province, even reaching the ears of powerful factions in neighboring provinces.

“What? The patriarch only prefers common women? Best if their cultivation doesn’t surpass the Golden Body stage?”

“Haha, wonderful!”

“This is a perfect chance to forge ties with Azure Cloud Sect...”

For a time, all the forces across Northern Province were in an uproar. Imagine, if one’s daughter or disciple were to marry a patriarch of Azure Cloud Sect, wouldn’t their family’s status rise with the tide? Who in the entire province would dare look down on them after that?

Azure Cloud Sect, having stood for ten thousand years as one of the eight great sects of the North, was strong and prosperous—a natural target for countless smaller powers seeking favor. What’s more, offering up a woman with cultivation no higher than Golden Body, as long as she was beautiful, was no real loss for any faction.

With the Grand Ancestor’s command, disciples of Azure Cloud Sect swarmed out, pasting notices in every city. Soon, there was not a soul in Northern Province who hadn’t heard.

Some of the more powerful sects scoffed at Azure Cloud Sect’s actions, dismissing them as mere theatrics.

In Guyuan City—a mid-sized city of the North—two Azure Cloud Sect disciples finished posting the sect’s notice on the city wall. They exchanged a look of relief; though the task was simple, it could not be done carelessly.

“Fellow Daoists, which patriarch of your sect is seeking concubines?” an elder asked, his eyes fixed intently on the notice.

“We honestly don’t know,” one disciple replied, scratching his head with an awkward grin. The order to post the notices came directly from the Grand Ancestor himself, and as for which patriarch was taking concubines, mere disciples like them were not privy to such information.

The two disciples quickly took their leave.

Beneath the notice, two figures—a woman and an old crone—paused.

The younger woman wore a green robe, her skin fair as snow, her features exquisite, her silhouette graceful—a celestial maiden stepped from a painting. The old woman beside her had withered skin and a hideous face, like a demon from the night, her shifting gaze fierce enough to keep others at a distance.

“Master, isn’t that old man at death’s door already?” the young woman said.

“On the verge of death, and yet he wants to take a hundred concubines? What a scoundrel!” the grotesque old woman sneered. She straightened, and a powerful aura surged from her, forcing the crowd around them to retreat a few steps in fear.

“Master, should we...” The young woman made a slicing gesture at her jade-like neck, a flash of murderous intent in her eyes.

The old woman frowned. She herself had once been a peerless beauty, but after being abandoned by a faithless man, she came to despise all betrayers in this world. Over the years, her cultivation had soared as she journeyed far and wide, slaying many womanizing villains. Now, having arrived in the North, she was incensed to hear that a patriarch of Azure Cloud Sect planned such an outrageous act.

Her heart burned with fury; she could hardly wait to eradicate him.

With a wave of her hand, the old woman set up a barrier and spoke slowly: “Azure Cloud Sect is no weakling. For the two of us to barge in would be reckless. Better we infiltrate first, ferret out which old fox it is, and then make our move.”

The young woman nodded, and the pair drifted away.

The matter of the Azure Cloud Sect patriarch taking concubines rocked all of Northern Province—and naturally, it caused an uproar within the sect itself. Among the younger disciples, rumors swirled, opinions divided, as the truth behind the affair remained shrouded.

Sword-lights flashed across the sky, alighting atop a mountain within Azure Cloud Sect—disciples returning from their travels.

“Sister Ning, there’s talk everywhere about our patriarch taking concubines. Other sects are laughing at us!” a lovely young disciple lamented inside the bamboo lodge atop Little Bamboo Peak.

“Ah, how could our Azure Cloud Sect get caught up in such farce? If the patriarch wanted to take concubines, why not do it quietly? Why make it such a spectacle for all to see?” another sighed.

They had been out training, only to become the butt of jokes among disciples from other sects. Mystified, they rushed home to find Sister Ning for answers.

Ning Yao—one of the leading figures of the younger generation—had reached the pinnacle of the Golden Body stage, and was famed as one of the four great beauties of Azure Cloud Sect. Among the young, her prestige was unmatched.

“Disgraceful in old age...” Ning Yao murmured, lifting her gaze to the drifting white clouds outside the window, her tone light yet brimming with contempt.

As a natural sword talent, Ning Yao had long been seen as the favored candidate for the next sect leader, with countless patriarchs pinning their hopes on her.

“Say that again if you dare!” A cold voice suddenly cut through the room, sword-shadows swirling as a figure of overwhelming presence flickered in and out of sight.

“All hail Sword Ancestor!” All the disciples in the bamboo lodge shivered, icy fear gripping their hearts as they knelt.

Sword Ancestor—twenty-second generation patriarch of Azure Cloud Sect, a mighty cultivator of the Divine Void realm.

In the Xuantian World, there are eleven cultivation stages: Blood Qi, Golden Body, Divine Treasury, Cave Heaven, Divine Void, Ethereal Spirit, Transcendent, Saintly, Saint Supreme, Sovereign, and Emperor.

“Ning Yao, do you admit your fault?” Qin Jian stepped from the sword-shadow, hands clasped behind her back, brow furrowed, eyes cold. This Ning Yao was audacious beyond belief—to slander the patriarch so, leaving Qin Jian bitterly disappointed.

Though she was not Ning Yao’s master, she cherished this gifted sword prodigy, often coming by to offer guidance.

“Sword Ancestor, what fault have I committed?” Ning Yao, proud by nature, straightened stubbornly, meeting Qin Jian’s gaze head-on.

To take a hundred concubines at once, and all nearly ordinary women—what else could that be but disgraceful in old age? If not for being in Azure Cloud Sect, she’d have suspected this was the work of some demonic cultivator practicing a vile technique.

A resounding slap echoed in the room. Ning Yao’s delicate cheek flushed and swelled instantly. She clutched her face, staring at Qin Jian in disbelief. Never could she have imagined that the Sword Ancestor, who always doted on her, would raise a hand against her.

The other disciples were stunned into silence.

After that slap, Qin Jian’s anger subsided somewhat. She turned away, letting out a gentle sigh.

Ning Yao, unaware of the truth, had spoken rashly, but it was not out of malice. The patriarch had been absent from Azure Cloud Sect for over nine thousand years; even elders like her had only glimpsed him twice—once at his return, once at his rebirth. Ordinary disciples had never laid eyes on him—their rank far too low.

“In time, on the day of the concubine selection, you may come to understand...” With a sigh, Qin Jian departed.

The patriarch’s identity remained a secret—one she could not yet reveal.

Seven days slipped by in a flash.

At last, the day came for the patriarch of Azure Cloud Sect to take concubines.